The Centennial School District is adding free, full-day kindergarten to three schools in September as part of a pilot program. All seven of the district's elementary schools will have full-day kindergarten in 2015-16.

The Oregon Legislature agreed in 2011 to fund full-day kindergarten starting next year. The state currently pays for only half-day kindergarten, and some school districts have resorted to charging tuition, a practice lawmakers wanted to end.

Centennial will launch the pilot program at Oliver, Parklane and Lynch View elementary schools, the district's lowest performers.

Superintendent Sam Breyer said the goal is to prevent students from falling behind.

"For us as a district, it's about getting kids a strong start," he said.

OPB features David Douglas elementary school students

First-grade students at Earl Boyles and Cherry Park elementary schools shared their stories in a one-hour radio documentary broadcast Tuesday on Oregon Public Broadcasting.

The documentary traces students from the class of 2025 in the David Douglas School District and discusses Oregon's goal of graduating 100 percent of students from the class of 2025 statewide.

The students' voices are affecting as they talk about the joys and challenges of school. Check it out.

Teacher absenteeism in the Portland area

A new national study ranked Portland Public Schools among the highest for teacher absenteeism.

East county school districts were nowhere on the list, but that's not because they're necessarily absent any less frequently.

The National Council on Teacher Quality study put PPS at fourth from the bottom among 40 big-city districts, with teachers missing an average of 14.1 days per year. (The national average was 11 days.)

The study didn't examine any other Portland-area districts, but Portland Public Schools did, in its own 2012 audit of absenteeism. That internal audit showed PPS teachers missed an average of 15.6 days per year in 2010-11. The averages in other Multnomah County districts were higher:

Centennial: 18.7

David Douglas: 16.1

Gresham-Barlow: 17.0

Parkrose: 16.4

Reynolds: 17.0

Not all absences are due to illness. Teachers are also absent from the classroom for professional development and trainings.